The city was declared the national capital in 1852.[2][3] Previously, the capital alternated between the cities of León and Granada, the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake and years of civil war in the 1980s severely disrupted and stunted Managua's growth. It was not until the mid-1990s that Managua began to see a resurgence.[citation needed]

There are two possible origins for the name "Managua", it may have originated from the term Mana-ahuac, which in the indigenous Nahuatl language translates to "adjacent to the water" or site "surrounded by water".[2][3] Or, it may have come from the Mangue language, where the word managua was said to mean "place of the big man" or "chief".[6] Residents of the city are called managuas, managüenses, or capitalinos.

Founded as a pre-Columbian fishing town, the city was incorporated in 1819 and given the name Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Nicaragua became an independent nation in 1838. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical compromise site. Hence, Managua was officially selected as the nation's capital in 1852.[9]

Between 1852 and 1930, Managua underwent extensive urbanization, becoming a base of governance, infrastructure and services,[2] the city was hampered by major floods in 1876 and 1885. A disastrous earthquake in 1931 and large fire in 1936[10] destroyed much of the city. Under the rule of Anastasio Somoza García and his family (1936–1979), the city was rebuilt and began to grow rapidly. New government buildings were erected, industry developed, and universities were established, the city's development caught the attention of Irving Fields and Albert Gamse, who composed a musical piece about the city that became popular in the 1940s through the performances of Freddy Martin, Guy Lombardo and Kay Kyser.[11] Managua had become Central America's most developed city. Today's references differentiate the pre-1970s Managua by labeling it as La Antigua Ciudad, which in English translates to "The Ancient City" or "The Old City".

Managua's progress came to a sudden halt after it suffered a second major earthquake on December 23, 1972, which destroyed 90% of the city's downtown and killed more than 19,120 people.[12] Infrastructure was severely damaged and rehabilitation or restoration of buildings was nearly impossible, at the time, Managua's limited resources had to be directed to other disaster relief purposes. Managua's ability to cope with the disaster was also limited. Surviving fire squadrons and ambulance companies were not able to handle the skyrocketing demand for their services, some buildings burned to the ground, while the foundations of others simply gave way. Not able to rebuild quickly, the city directed emergency workers to clear away much of the city's ruins quickly while burying the deceased in mass graves. Residences, government buildings and entire avenues were demolished. Escaping the city center, earthquake victims found refuge in the outskirts of the city. To add insult to injury, corruption within the Somoza regime which allocated part of the relief funds hindered the reconstruction of the city's center which remains somewhat isolated from the rest of the capital.

The Nicaraguan Revolution of 1979 to overthrow the Somoza regime and the 11-year-long Contra War of the 1980s further devastated the city and its economy. To make matters worse, a series of natural disasters, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998, made economic recovery more difficult, after winning the presidential election in 1990, the National Opposition Union began the reconstruction of Managua began in earnest. More than 300,000 Nicaraguans returned from abroad bringing their expertise and needed capital. Businesses mushroomed, new housing projects and schools were constructed, the airport was expanded and modernized, streets were widened, older malls were repaired and new ones were built, and buildings were cleaned up; in 2006, after the Sandinista National Liberation Front came back into power, literacy, health and reconstruction programs were expanded.

New governmental buildings, galleries, museums, apartment buildings, squares, promenades, monuments, boat tours on Lake Managua, restaurants, nighttime entertainment, and broad avenues have resurrected part of downtown Managua's former vitality. Commercial activity, however, remains low.[citation needed] Residential and commercial buildings have been constructed on the outskirts of the city, in the same locales that were once used as refuge camps for those who were homeless after the earthquake, these booming locales have been of concern to the government because of their close proximity to Lake Managua. The construction of a new sewer system and the redirecting of waste water to a new water treatment plant at Las Mercedes in Eastern Managua in May 2009 relieved old concerns over water pollution and native wildlife, and brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland.

Managua is located on the southern shores of Lake Xolotlán, also known as Lake Managua. Lake Xolotlán contains the same fish species as larger Lake Cocibolca in southeastern Nicaragua, except for the freshwater sharks found exclusively in the latter. Once a Managuan scenic highlight, the lake has been polluted from the dumping of chemical and waste water since 1927. A new sewer system and the redirecting of waste water to a new waste water treatment plant at Las Mercedes funded by the German government to decontaminate the lake is expected to be the largest in Central America and was inaugurated in 2009.[13][14]

These works of progress have relieved old concerns over water pollution and the endangering of native wildlife have brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland.

Managua's city area extends about 544 square kilometres (210 square miles), essentially south from the south shore of Lake Managua, the lakeshore is at an altitude of 55 metres (180 feet) above sea level, and the city climbs as it gets towards the Sierras de Managua further south where it is over 700 metres (2,297 feet) above sea level.

Geologically, the city lies on fault lines, thus seismologists predict that Managua will experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less.[15]

Managua, due to its tropical climate, varied topography, naturally fertile soils, and abundant rain and water sources, boasts a great variety of flora. Many different types of trees, some of which are not found elsewhere in the world, appear, including chilamates, ceibos, pochotes, genízaros, tigüilotes, royal palms, piñuelas and madroños (Nicaragua's national tree) surround the city. During the rainy season (May to November), Managua becomes a lush city due to many palms, bushes, and other plants and trees which dominate the city's appearance.[16]

Managua, like much of Western Nicaragua, except for the Sierras to the South, has a tropical climate with constant temperatures averaging between 28 and 32 °C (82 and 90 °F). Under Köppen's climate classification, the city has a tropical wet and dry climate. A distinct dry season exists between November and April, while most of the rainfall is received between May and October. Temperatures are highest in March, April and May, when the sun lies directly overhead and the summer rainfall has yet to begin.

The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua) is the main state-funded public university of Nicaragua. UNAN was established in 1812 in the city of León and its main campus is located in Managua. By government decree in 1983 the campus of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in León and Managua, became two separate entities; UNAN and UNAN-León.[22]

The INCAE Business School (Spanish: Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas, INCAE) is a private business school. INCAE was founded in 1964 with the support of the United States government and other Central American countries,[23] the institution has a close affiliation with Harvard University, as it had played a part in its foundation. The Francisco de Sola campus in Managua, Nicaragua was the first to be established (1964), the Walter Kissling Gam campus in Alajuela, Costa Rica was the second established in 1984. The latter was made the main campus following the lack of government support during the 1980s; in fact the Managua campus was actually closed for most of this time. It then reopened in 1990 after democracy was restored in Nicaragua; however, the main campus remained in Alajuela.

Managua is the economic center and a generator of services for the majority of the nation, the city, with a population exceeding one million inhabitants, houses many large national and international businesses. It is home to many factories which produce diverse products.[30] Multinational companies such as Wal-Mart, Telefonica, Union Fenosa, and Parmalat have offices and operations in Managua. The city's chief products include beer, coffee, pharmaceuticals, textiles, shoes, matches, construction products, etc, her main trading products are beef, coffee, cotton, and other crops.[15] Managua is also Nicaragua's main political, social, cultural, educational and economic hub, at the same time, the city is served by the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, the country's primary international gateway, and regional Los Brasiles airport and Punta Huete military air base, recently renewed.

There is a large established local market system that caters to the majority of Nicaraguans; in Mercado Roberto Huembes, Mercado Oriental, Mercado Israel Lewites and other locations one can find anything from household amenities, food, clothing, electronics, construction materials, and other contracting supplies. The markets enjoy a substantial amount of popularity, as many of the backpacking, ecotourism-focused tourists and tourists on-a-budget use these markets for their supplies and souvenirs.[citation needed]

Managua is also currently experiencing an upsurge in real estate prices and as well as a housing shortage. Foreigners, mainly from Anglo-America and Europe, are becoming interested in considering post-retirement life in Nicaragua, as the country has been mentioned by various media outlets due to its safety performance on major indexes and inexpensive lifestyle for tourists.[citation needed]

The capital is also in need of more office space in downtown Managua as the city's economy continues to grow. Economists predict that its demand for commercial real estate will increase. New office buildings are currently being constructed along Carretera a Masaya and in Villa Fontana districts, the most recent inauguration being the Edificio Invercasa.[citation needed]

Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square), formerly known as Plaza de la República (Republic Square) is home to Managua's historic center, located on the shores of Lake Xolotlan. The plaza has been partially rebuilt and many old buildings have been refurbished, some of the more important buildings which managed to survive the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake include the Catedral de Santiago (St. James' Cathedral, known colloquially as the Old Cathedral), the Rubén Darío National Theatre, and the National Palace of Culture.[34]

Within the Revolution Square is the Parque Central (Central Park) which contains many historical monuments, some dedicated to national heroes and poets, some of these include a centrally located Art Deco gazebo crowned with a white-washed naked muse, which happens to have superb acoustics. There is also the bust of Professor Josefa Toledo de Aguerri, who was an educator, philanthropist, writer, social activist, and one of the first feminists in the Americas. Also, the tomb of Carlos Fonseca, founder of the FSLN, which is guarded by an eternal flame. Across from the Central Park, on the north side, is the Rubén Darío park and monument, dedicated to Nicaragua's greatest poet and one of the most influential literary figures of the Spanish-speaking world, it is a neo-classical monument which consists of a round pedestal, topped by a balustrade surrounding a fountain containing a gondola filled with singing cherubs, and at the center, a pillar topped with a statue of Darío dressed in a Roman tunic protected by an angel. Constructed of Carrara marble, Darío's monument is one of the greatest in the country. There is also a park dedicated to the Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias. Other monuments include the monument of El Guerrillero sin Nombre (The Nameless Guerrilla Soldier) and Monumento à la Paz (Monument for Peace).[35]

The Catedral de Santiago (St. James' Cathedral), also known as the Old Cathedral of Managua was designed by Belgian architects, and the iron that was used to shape the core of the cathedral was shipped from Belgium. Construction lasted from 1928 to 1938, overseen by Pablo Dambach, who was a Belgian engineer residing in Managua, the architects had been inspired by the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France.[36] The St. James' Cathedral became the first cathedral in the Western Hemisphere to be built entirely of concrete on a metal frame, the cathedral survived the 1931 earthquake, but was heavily damaged during the 1972 earthquake, which eventually led to the construction of a new cathedral located in another part of Managua. Restoration of the old cathedral has appeared to be possible.

The Rubén Darío National Theatre is Nicaragua's most important theater, and is one of the most modern theaters in Central America. Both national and international artists present shows, concerts, exhibitions, and cultural performances such as El Güegüense among many others, the National Theatre is one of the few buildings that survived the 1972 earthquake that destroyed 90% of Managua.[37]

The National Palace is one of Managua's oldest buildings, undamaged by the 1972 earthquake, it was commissioned by President Juan Bautista Sacasa in 1935 and built by architect Pablo Dambach, who also built the St. James Cathedral, for more than 50 years, the National Palace housed the Congress. Today, it houses the National Archive, the National Library, as well as the National Museum which is open to the public, the museum features pre-Columbian paintings, statues, ceramics, etc. Also part of the exhibit is the Hall of National History and the Hall of National Symbols, the National Palace was one of the few building that survived the 1972 earthquake.[38]

Tiscapa Lagoon, located within the Tiscapa Lagoon Natural Reserve is just south of Managua's Historical Center. Leading up to the lagoon is Calle del Comercio (Commerce Street), which leads to the Monumento al Liberalismo (Monument to Liberalism), built in the late 1930s by the Liberal party in honor of President Anastasio Somoza García. Nearby is the Monument to Sandino which is a silhouette of Augusto C. Sandino, one of Nicaragua's national heroes. The monument stands 59 feet tall.[39] The monument was proposed by Ernesto Cardenal and is protected by the Nicaraguan military, the Sandino monument was constructed on top of the wreckage of the old Mozarabic-style presidential palace commissioned by President Sacasa in the late 1920s but long used by the Somoza Family as their personal residence. Also on the crater lip of Tiscapa is the Mazmorras, a prison where current President Daniel Ortega and many other political prisoners were tortured during the Somoza regime.[35]

The reserve is located within Managua's city limits, and is a popular tourist attraction. Restaurants and stores line the walls of the lagoon. Canopy rides provide a panoramic view of Managua's old downtown where only a few buildings survived the 1972 earthquake.[40] Encouraged by the country's improved economy, Managua's downtown underwent reconstruction beginning in the mid-1990s. Thus, many new governmental buildings, apartment complexes, shopping malls, green squares, leafy promenades, lake tours, restaurants, entertainment venues, broadened avenues, monuments, and fountains, have sprung up awakening the metropolis' heart after a long surreal dream since 1972.[41] Also, many pre-Columbian artifacts have been found in and around Tiscapa, adding to Managua's pre-Columbian legacy.[42]

The Doctor Roberto Incer Barquero Library, located in Managua, is designated to promote Nicaraguan culture, the library has 67,000 books, free internet, a newspaper archive, and economic information from the Central Bank. The library also has a gallery in the same building, where famous Nicaraguan paintings, as well as pieces from new promising artists, are exhibited; in the numismatic hall there is a permanent exhibition of Nicaraguan coins, bills, and memorial medals from throughout Nicaragua's history.[43]

Managua is also home to Museo Sitio Huellas de Acahualinca (the Museum of Acahualinca), where the Ancient footprints of Acahualinca, fossilized Paleo American footprints made 2,100 years ago, are engraved in volcanic ash. The museum is located in west Managua in the Acahualinca neighborhood; in addition to the footprints, the museum also displays artifacts found in other localities around the country. Artifacts such as mammoth footprints, pre-Columbian tools, a skull from León Viejo, and a small collection of pottery, among other archaeological objects.[44]

The Dennis Martínez National Stadium was built in 1948 and was the largest stadium in Central America at the end of its construction. It survived the 1972 earthquake, the stadium was named in honor of Nicaragua's first baseball player to play in Major League Baseball. It serves as a venue for baseball and soccer games, as well as concerts and religious events, the Dennis Martínez National Stadium has a capacity for 40,000, making it the largest stadium in Nicaragua.[45]

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, more commonly referred to as the New Cathedral, was designed by architect Ricardo Legorreta and inaugurated in 1993.[46] The New Cathedral was built to replace the Old Cathedral downtown that had been damaged during the 1972 earthquake. Upon the completion of its construction, the New Cathedral generated controversy among tourists and locals because of its bland and dull appearance. Critics pointed to the fact that buildings of particular importance, especially those of colonial heritage, were painted in bright colors, such a building whose intention was to serve as a place of worship was expected to have some sort of vibrant color. Eventually, the church's original concrete and gray surface became accepted and Catholic pilgrims began to embrace the church as it was.

Managua is Nicaragua's cultural capital, boasting several restaurants, theaters, museums, and a few shopping centers,[47] the city is also home to many communities of immigrants and ex-pats from countries including but not limited to Taiwan, China, Germany, the United States, Palestine, and Latin American countries.[citation needed]

Due to the influence of immigrants and tourists, it is common to find food specialties of the diverse regions of Nicaragua jointly with international ones in Managua, the most common foods include rice, plantain, beans, and varieties of cabbage and cheeses. There is a local tradition of cheese-making and it is not unusual to encounter fried cheese as a side dish with many of the most popular dishes such as fried plantain and gallo pinto, a regional traditional rice and bean dish.[citation needed]

Managua enjoys an array of international cuisine including Italian, Spanish, and French restaurants, as well as many Asian restaurants (South Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese), the capital is also conspicuously dotted with many American restaurant chains such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Papa John's, and Subway, which have sprung up since the 1990s. Local and regional fast food chains exist as well, for example Tip-Top, Rostipollo, and Pollo Campero.

A strong tradition of preparing local sweets such as Cajeta de leche (made of either condensed milk or sugared coconut and nuts) can be found, some local varieties of chocolate can be found also, usually prepared with pepper and other spices or nuts. A "fast food" known as quesillo is popular throughout the country. Quesillo consists of locally produced cheese wrapped in a corn tortilla with sour cream, pickled onions, salt, and vinegar. Nacatamal, the Nicaraguan version of the tamale, is a local delicacy. Many fruits such as mangos, jocotes, and mamones are a common snack. Mangoes and jocotes are often consumed while unripe with salt and vinegar.

Managua's most famous festival is that of its patron saint Santo Domingo de Guzmán,[51] it starts on the morning of August 1, when the "Bajada del Santo" (walk down of the saint) involves many joyful people walking and carrying the old statue of Santo Domingo from Las Sierritas Church in south Managua to another church across the city to the north, in the area destroyed by the 1972 earthquake. It remains here for ten days until the morning of August 10, when the "Subida del Santo" (walking up of the saint) returns the statue to Las Sierritas Church where it remains for the rest of the year. Thousands of people attend this event which involves dancing, eating, drinking and the marching of musical bands, mainly for traditions that date back to pre-colonial times, or to ask for personal miracles, make promises, or give thanks to the saint, during the parade many people dress up in typical costumes, masks and painted bodies. Among other participants are "carrosas" (art cars and trucks) from local business companies, horseriders coming from Nicaragua and other Central American neighbouring countries to show off their horses, skills, and horserider costumes.

Another festival taking place since 2003 is the Alegria por la Vida (Happiness for Life) Carnaval is celebrated in Managua at the beginning of the month of March. There's a different slogan or theme every year, this event is celebrated with parades, floats, live music, food and dancing as well as the march of the Carnival Queen.[52]

The National Library holds a great amount of volumes and affords abundant bibliographic information about the discovery and independence of Nicaragua, the National Palace of Culture has an exhibition of Nicaraguan art from the time previous to its independence. Inside the National Palace of Culture is the National Museum, containing archaeological finds with some examples of pre-Columbian pottery, statues, and other findings.

Managua is home to an array of art galleries which feature pieces by both national and international artists.[51]

Managua is home to many types of museums, some art museums include the Julio Cortázar Museum and the Archivo Fílmico de la Cinemateca Nacional. Natural history museums include the Museo del Departamento de Malacología UCA, Museo Gemológico de la Concha y el Caracol, and Museo Paleontológico "El Hato". The Santo Domingo de Guzmán Museum is an anthropology museum. History museums include the Museo de la Revolución, Museo Casa Hacienda San Jacinto and Museo Parque Loma de Tiscapa.

Managua features many bars, nightclubs, casinos, theaters and cinemas. Compared to western prices, alcoholic beverages, theatre visits and cinema tickets are relatively inexpensive.[16] There are cinemas in all major shopping centers; screening both English- and Spanish-language films. Foreign embassies in Managua also sponsor film festivals.

Since the late 1990s and early 2000, many casinos and karaoke bars opened and have remained popular attractions for Nicaraguans and foreign visitors. Popular music includes the Palo de Mayo, Merengue, Cumbia and Latin pop among other Latin music genres, as well as American pop and rock. Salsa dancing is a national pastime. Managua boasts a vibrant night life. Nightclubs and bars are abound in Managua, particularly, in the popular areas called "Zona Viva" located in the shopping mall "Galerías Santo Domingo", as well as very close by "Plaza Mi Viejo Santo Domingo" and "Plaza Familiar". Other popular areas are "Zona Hippos" behind the Hilton hotel near Metrocentro and "Zona Rosa".

Aside from these activities, Managua has a wide selection to offer in luxurious shopping malls, boutiques and department stores as well as local markets.[16] In the Mercado Roberto Huembes shoppers can find everything from furniture, national arts and crafts, to fruits and vegetables, and clothing. Pali, La Union, and La Colonia are conventional supermarkets, which are in several areas of the city and sell local and imported ingredients.

Baseball is by far Nicaragua's most popular sport, followed by soccer and boxing. The Dennis Martínez National Stadium is home to many baseball games of Managua's Boer team. At the time of its construction in the late 1960s, it was the most modern stadium in Central America, the baseball league has 34 teams.

There has been growing amateur interest in little football or "futbolin" among teens and adults. New private courts have played a big role in the promotion of amateur games and tournaments, on the professional level, the National Nicaraguan Football team has still not had the public support nor the international exposure as the regional counterparts like the Costa Rican, Honduran or Salvadoran teams. However, with support of the FIFA, the first national soccer stadium in Managua is under construction.[55]

In Managua there are two golf courses, the better-known of which is Nejapa Golf & Country Club.

Neither Nicaragua nor the city of Managua have major gang problems, in comparison to some of its regional neighbors.[56][57][58] The number of gang members was estimated at 4,500 throughout the country, lower than all of its Northern neighbors in the region except Belize;[59] in 2003, the National Police of Nicaragua recognized gangs committed only 0.51% of all crimes. In 1991, there were 110 gangs in Managua, in 2001 the number of gangs reduced to 96 gangs with a total of 1,725 members, over the next 3–4 years the number of gangs and gang members both decreased and increased. In late 2005 the number of gangs and members decreased significantly to 34 gangs and their 706 members in Managua, these represented 38% and 32% of the national total of gangs and its members.[60] Chief of Police, Aminta Granera, stated that vehicles robberies has reduced; as only 200 reports were filed in 2006.[61]

The German government funded the construction of a water treatment plant with plans to process the city's sewage and clean the Managua lake. Also pending is a mega-project to reconstruct the old center of Managua, and to introduce a monorail system, to alleviate future transportation problems in Managua.[62]

Managua is the home of most national broadcasting television channels as well as the major national newspapers, some of the larger television channels include: Canal 2, Telenica, Canal 10, Canal 15 (100% Noticias), and several others. The three national Two newspapers are El Nuevo Diario, La Prensa, and HOY, which have offices based in Managua along with other smaller newspapers. There are numerous radio stations in Managua, some of which tend to have political, social, or religious affiliations.

Transportation-wise, Managua is one of Nicaragua's best positioned cities. All of Nicaragua's main roads lead to Managua, and there are good public transportation connections to and from the capital. There are four main highways that lead into Managua, the Pan-American Highway enters the city from the north, connecting Managua to Nicaragua's northern and central departments. This highway is commonly referred to as the Northern Highway.

The Southern Highway, the southern part of the Pan-American highway, connects Managua to southern departments Carazo, Rivas and others.

The Carretera A Masaya connects Managua to the departments of Masaya and Granada.

The newly reconstructed Carretera A León connects Managua with León.

All of these highways are in good condition, with little traffic congestion. Infrastructure on the highways is well maintained, this also tends to be true for cities and towns that are served or are in close distance with the freeways. However, this does not yield truthfully for cities and towns who tend to be considerably further from the main highway roads. Nicaraguan bus companies, often referred to as Chicken Buses, serve both urban and rural areas to remedy the lack of sufficient infrastructure that plagues these towns or villages.

Transportation infrastructure has grown outside of Managua and other Pacific coast cities and departments in recent years. A road from the river port city of El Rama to Pearl Lagoon, located in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, was completed in 2007.[63] El Rama is connected by highway to Managua. Managua and Puerto Cabezas, located in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region are also connected via road. A third road, currently under construction, will connect Bluefields, South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region with Managua via Nueva Guinea.[64] Traveling by airplane is more efficient than traveling by these roads due to the poor conditions, especially in the rainy season. Domestic flights are operated by La Costeña from the international airport.

There are 36 bus routes in Managua, these are regulated by the city’s regulatory entity for municipal transports (IRTRAMMA) and individually operated by cooperatives and private companies. In addition there are two bus routes that formerly connected to outside parts of Managua, but these became now are part of the city (Esquipulas and Los Vanegas). And seven bus routes connect to the nearby Ciudad Sandino. Buses are the most economical way to get around the city and thus contributes to high numbers of ridership. Managua's prime location between the Northern Pan-American highway and the Southern Highway make it an ideal hub for local, national and international buses.

Most bus coaches in Managua are fabricated by DINA S.A. and Mercedes-Benz. One out of every ten buses now grants access to wheelchair passengers, granting disabeled passengers for the first time the ability to utilize public transportation resources.[67]

TransNica is a Nicaraguan bus company that operates international bus services throughout Central America. It competes extensively with its counterpart, TicaBus, a Costa Rican bus company. Managua serves as the company's hub, with buses departing from Managua to San José, Costa Rica, Tegucigalpa, San Salvador and Choluteca.

In Managua, those who commute to and from work generally travel by bus or taxi. Taxi tends to be the transportation method of choice for tourists. Taxi cabs may be hailed or called over by radio dispatch. Street cabs, those that can be hailed without calling a dispatcher, are widely available and cost somewhat less than their counterparts. However, some taxi cabs operate as collectives, and do pick up passengers as the first customer goes on their journey. Usually, passengers that wish to opt out of such practice do so by advising the driver not to pick up additional passengers, this is usually done as a safety precaution, as there have been robberies committed due to this practice of "cab sharing." Taxi cabs do not have meters. By custom, many Nicaraguans and tourists alike agree on a fare before embarking on the vehicle.

There are no railroads that operate in Managua nor in Nicaragua, the country's railroads fell into disrepair during the 1980s. The Chamorro government closed the system and sold the cars and rails for scrap.

However, the planned FERISTSA system would most likely bypass the capital and give Nicaragua its first ever international railway.

The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, was presented with a plan to revitalize the city center.[citation needed] The project included the possibility of building a monorail that would cross over the old center of the capital that remains rather unchanged since the 1972 earthquake, the monorail would serve important locales, such as the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport and continue service to Ciudad Sandino. The project costs $100 million and has been considered as a possibility for the nation's capital.

The Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (formerly Managua International Airport) is the largest and only international airport in Nicaragua. It recently inaugurated its over US$52 million extension and renovation partly financed by Spain,[69] the airport was remodeled by architect Roberto Sansón[70] and has now been converted into one of the region's most modern airports. The airport used to serve as the hub for the Nicaragüenses de Aviación airline, which was bought by TACA Airlines the El Salvador national airline, that bought all of the airlines in Central America.

The airport, known as Aeropuerto Sandino or MGA to locals, serves as the primary hub for connections at both domestic and international levels. TACA Regional member La Costeña operates flights to local destinations like Bluefields, the Corn Islands and San Carlos among others. The airport is located near the northern highway and is about 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) east of the city's downtown. Hotels, restaurants, and commercial centers are all accessible by car, taxi, or bus. Out of the country's one hundred and forty airports, it is the only one with the appropriate infrastructure and capacity to handle international flights.

1.
Augusto C. Sandino International Airport
–
Originally christened as Las Mercedes Airport in 1968, it was later renamed Augusto C. Sandino International Airport during the Sandinista regime in the 1980s and again in 2001 to Managua International Airport by then president Arnoldo Alemán and its name was changed once more in February 2007 to its current name by President Daniel Ortega to honor the Sandinista regime. Managua also has a landing strip at Punta Huete Airport. Punta Huete was designed for larger aircraft and this alternative landing site, however, does not service commercial aircraft. The runway at the airport is 8,012 ft long, with 1.4 million passengers in 2013, ACS is currently the fifth busiest airport by passenger traffic in Central America and it also serves as a focus city for the Panamanian airline Copa Airlines. Sandino International Airport has direct scheduled service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America. Before ACS, there was the old Xolotlan Airport, about 2 miles east of Managua, Las Mercedes was further upgraded, re-designed to handle Boeing 707 aircraft, and re-inaugurated on July 4,1968 by Anastasio Somoza Debayle. In the early 1970s, Las Mercedes was expanded to more modern standards, such as four health inspectors, eight immigration officers and it was considered fully equipped, having air conditioning, background music, loudspeakers and conveyor belts for baggage handling. It also had a restaurant on its upper floor where visitors and travelers could see airport movement, when the Sandinistas took power, the airport was named after Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary and guerrilla leader, after whom the Sandinista movement is named. The Sandinistas however did not maintain the airport, and it began to deteriorate until it was expanded and remodeled in 1996, Nicaraguan artist Róger Pérez de la Rocha has created many two large portraits of Augusto César Sandino, and Rubén Darío which they lay at the airports lobby. Las Mercedes served for a long time as a hub for Nicaraguas flag carriers Lanica, Aeronica from 1979 to the 80s. When NICA became a member of Grupo TACA during the 1990s, according to EAAI ACS is the most modern airport in Central America and the 4th safest in the world. It is located just 11 km from Managuas downtown, has a runway which measures 8,015 ft in length and is at an elevation of 194 ft. A large expansion programme was underway by 2003 and as of July 2006 the final phase was completed with 7 gates equipped with jetways, about 360 individuals are employed at the airport. Facilities within the airport include a tourist information desk, bank, restaurants, bars, post office, souvenir shops, duty-free shops, lounges, to make use of the VIP lounge there are five rate options, Normal, Corporate, Affiliated Credit Cards, Minors and Infants. The types of services in the VIP lounge include checking baggage and documents with customs and immigration plus the airline, Sandino International Airport is Nicaraguas main international gateway. Domestic flights fly between Bluefields and the Corn Islands airports while also serving a number of airstrips to the countrys east, the airport is accessed by the Panamerican Highway, known as the Carretera Norte. The airport serves as the hub for Avianca Nicaragua,1 D = Domestic Terminal, I = International Terminal

2.
Port
–
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, some ports have an important military role. One of the worlds oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea, along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Guangzhou was an important port during the ancient times as far back as the Qin Dynasty, canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Athens port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet, lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius, Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby, some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as railroads and highways, is critical to a port, so that passengers, Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbor pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks, the terms port and seaport are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a lake, river, or canal with access to a sea or ocean. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Duluth-Superior, a fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the port that depends on an ocean product. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, a dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime, because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. A seaport is further categorized as a port or a cargo port. Additionally, cruise ports are known as a home port or a port of call

3.
Salvador Allende
–
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician, known as the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections. Allendes involvement in Chilean political life spanned a period of forty years. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was a senator, deputy and he unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1952,1958, and 1964 elections. In 1970, he won the presidency in a close three-way race and he was elected in a run-off by Congress as no candidate had gained a majority. A centre-right majority including the Christian Democrats, whose support had enabled Allendes election, denounced his rule as unconstitutional, on 11 September 1973, the military moved to oust Allende in a coup détat sponsored by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, he gave his last speech vowing not to resign, later that day, Allende committed suicide with an assault rifle, according to an investigation conducted by a Chilean court with the assistance of international experts in 2011. Allende was born on 26 June 1908 in Santiago and he was the son of Salvador Allende Castro and Laura Gossens Uribe. Allendes family belonged to the Chilean upper middle class and had a tradition of political involvement in progressive. His grandfather was a prominent physician and a social reformist who founded one of the first secular schools in Chile, Salvador Allende was of Belgian and Basque descent. Allende attended high school at the Liceo Eduardo de la Barra in Valparaíso, as a teenager, his main intellectual and political influence came from the shoe-maker Juan De Marchi, an Italian-born anarchist. Allende was an athlete in his youth, being a member of the Everton de Viña del Mar sports club. Allende then graduated with a degree in 1933 from the University of Chile. During his time at medical school Allende was influenced by Professor Max Westenhofer, Allende co-founded a section of the Socialist Party of Chile in Valparaíso and became its chairman. He married Hortensia Bussi with whom he had three daughters and he was a Freemason, a member of the Lodge Progreso No.4 in Valparaíso. In 1933, he published his doctoral thesis Higiene Mental y Delincuencia in which he criticized Cesare Lombrosos proposals, in 1938, Allende was in charge of the electoral campaign of the Popular Front headed by Pedro Aguirre Cerda. The Popular Fronts slogan was Bread, a Roof and Work, after its electoral victory, he became Minister of Health in the Reformist Popular Front government which was dominated by the Radicals. Upon entering the government, Allende relinquished his seat for Valparaíso. Around that time, he wrote La Realidad Médico Social de Chile, after the Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany, Allende was one of 76 members of the Congress who sent a telegram to Adolf Hitler denouncing the persecution of Jews

4.
Lake Managua
–
Lake Managua is a lake in Nicaragua. The Spanish name is Lago de Managua or Lago Xolotlán, at 1,042 km², it is approximately 65 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its name was coined by the Spanish conquerors from Mangue, the city of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, lies on its southwestern shore. The level of Lake Managua raises significantly during the periods of heavy rain, the highest water level was recorded during the flooding of 1933. The lake rose 3 metres in five days during Hurricane Mitch in 1998, an even higher flooding occurred in September/October 2010. Since then, the city has prohibited use of the most flood-prone areas. Lake Managua has been described by authors as the most contaminated lake in Central America. The lake has been polluted, mostly by decades of sewage being dumped into the lake. The city sewers have drained into the lake since 1927 and it was only in 2009 that a modern wastewater treatment plant was opened in Managua, but even it treats only 40% of the citys wastewater. The lake today has no outlet, with only occasional floods to Lake Nicaragua through the Tipitapa River. Despite the pollution, some of the people of Managua still live along the lakes shores, in 2007 the malecón area was dredged and the sediment hauled off on barges. A strong odor which permeated the area from the sediment disappeared, a stone rip-rap and concrete wharf was constructed and a sight seeing boat called La Novia de Xolotlán makes hour-long lake tours when there are sufficient tourists. About 20 fish species survive in Lake Managua. While joined to Lake Nicaragua, the Bull sharks of that lake cannot migrate to Lake Managua due to a 12 ft high waterfall on the Tipitapa River, JPL NASA, PIA03365, Perspective View with Landsat Overlay, Lakes Managua and Nicaragua

5.
Metrocentro Managua
–
Metrocentro Managua is a shopping center in Managua, Nicaragua, developed and operated by the salvadorean Grupo Roble. The shopping center is home to 120 stores, a court, a supermarket. The construction of the first phase of the center was finished in 1974. Due to the war, further development was halted until 1998 when it was renovated and extended with more store space, in 2004, a third renovation took place, adding more than 25,000 square meters of new commercial space and a two-level parking space

6.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation

7.
Nicaragua
–
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. Nicaraguas capital, Managua, is the countrys largest city and the third-largest city in Central America, the multi-ethnic population of six million includes indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Native tribes on the eastern coast speak their own languages, the Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, and fiscal crisis—the most notable causes that led to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nicaragua is a democratic republic. The biological diversity, warm climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. The name Nicaragua was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao, when Spaniard Gil González Dávila came to Nicaragua in 1521 he found in the areas between Rivas and San Jorge the first pre-Columbian natives of Nicaragua. At the time the city was called Quauhcapolca and the cacique leaders name was Macuilmiquiztli. The Pipil migrated to Nicaragua from central Mexico after 500 BC, meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by other peoples, mostly Chibcha language groups. They had coalesced in Central America and migrated also to present-day northern Colombia and they lived a life based primarily on hunting and gathering. In 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama, on his fourth voyage, Columbus explored the Miskito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua. The Spanish attempted to convert all three tribes to Christianity, Nicaragua and Nicarao and their people converted, but Dirangen, however, did not, the first attempt to conquer what is now known as Nicaragua was by Gil González Dávila, who arrived in Panama in January 1520. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524, conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaraguas principal towns in 1524, Granada on Lake Nicaragua was the first settlement, followed by León at a location west of Lake Managua. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors, Córdoba was later publicly beheaded following a power struggle with Pedro Arias Dávila. His tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo, the clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the War of the Captains, Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner, although he had lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and successfully established his base in León. Through adroit diplomatic machinations, he became the first governor of the colony, many indigenous people died as a result of new infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the capital and it was rebuilt northwest of what is now known as the ruins of Old León

8.
Departments of Nicaragua
–
The department was divided into two autonomous regions. The Charter of Autonomy is largely based on the used by Spain. The communities are governed by a Governor and a Regional Council, ISO 3166-2, NI Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales. Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions

9.
Municipalities of Nicaragua
–
The 15 departments and 2 autonomous regions of Nicaragua are divided into 153 municipalities. The formation and dissolution of municipalities is governed by the Law of Municipalities, whilst municipal governments may not be responsible for large highways, small roads and tracks usually come under their control. Additionally, municipal governments may issue permits for the operation of urban, notes, Year refers to the date the municipality was created. In some cases, the year refers to the date of the foundation of the municipality seat and this is particularly the case of colonial cities

10.
Metropolitan area
–
As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people

11.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above

12.
Capital (political)
–
A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right

13.
Managua Department
–
Managua is a department in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 3,672 km² and has a population of 1,380,300, the capital is the city of Managua, which is also the capital of Nicaragua. The department has two coastlines, on the Pacific Ocean and on Lake Managua, but does not border Lake Nicaragua, ciudad Sandino El Crucero Managua Mateare San Francisco Libre San Rafael del Sur Ticuantepe Tipitapa Villa Carlos Fonseca

14.
Ticuantepe
–
Ticuantepe is a municipality in the Managua department of Nicaragua with an estimated population of 34,000. Ticuantepe comes from the Nahuatl language of the first inhabitants of Nicaragua, ticuane, which means fierce or tiger, and tepeh, which means hill, are combined to make Ticuantepe. Ticuantepe has the largest underground aquifer in the nation, and is the largest supplier of pineapples to all of Nicaragua, Ticuantepe has an estimated population of 34,000, 37% of which live in urban zones and 63% in rural zones. The town has a nice feel to it. It is one of the areas of Nicaragua and is located just 20 minutes from downtown Managua. There is easy transportation to and from Ticuantepe to most of Nicaragua by bus, microbus, located just 20 minutes from Managua and from Masaya as well as only 35 minutes from Granada, it is central but at the same time, has a rural environment. The volcano Volcan Masaya is about 15 minutes away, located in Ticuantepe is Chocoyero Nature Reserve, which is the smallest protected area in Nicaragua at just 455 acres. Chocoyero is a tropical rainforest and is abundant in water and it is home to two waterfalls, El Brujo and Chocoyero, named after the Pacific parakeets that make the walls of the cliff their home, they are locally known as Chocoyos. Chocoyero is home to an estimated 113 bird species,29 species of mammals and 21 types of reptiles, Chocoyero Nature Reserve is regarded as an important tourist attraction. Each year an estimated 10,000 people visit the reserve, there are wild howler monkeys as well as a vast array of flora and fauna and two waterfalls. It is a hike around the reserve and most people travel in. It is about 7 kilometers off of the main road, there are a handful of clean hotels and nice restaurants. The main hotels are Viva Guesthouse and The Chocoyo and both have pools and are secure, the restaurant Las Pitahayas is well known throughout most of Nicaragua and is located in Ticuantepe. There is one Spanish language school located in Ticuantepe, Ticuantepe Spanish School and it is well integrated into the community and a great place to enjoy Ticuantepe. Ticuantepe has been a city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee residents collected aid shipments for Ticuantepe during the years of the Sandinista government, after 1990, Milwaukees aid shipments fell off as a result of the imposition of custom charges, and around 2005, the sister city relationship was discontinued. Protected areas of Nicaragua Wildlife of Nicaragua Managua Nicaragua. com Ticuantepe

15.
Tipitapa
–
Tipitapa is a municipality in the Managua department of western Nicaragua. The area is located between Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua, Tipitapa began as a settlement of local tribes. The first settlers were the Chorotegas, who populated central Nicaragua, over time, the Chorotegas were divided into two rival gangs, the Dirianes and Nagrandanos. The kingdom of Dirianes was the jurisdiction to which it belonged, pre-Tipitapa had its own social, economic and administrative policy. The largest populations were Managua, Xalteva, Diriomo, Niquinohomo, there are two versions of the origin of the name of Tipitapa. The first is said to be of Mexican origin and is formed from the prefix telpë meaning stone with petlat meaning mat or bedroll and pan which means place to form place of stone backpacks. The second version is that Tipitapa is derived from the voices tpitzin as alt meaning short or small with the adverb of place apan to mean in the vicinity of a river or small stream. The current city, Tipitapa, was founded after the town was transferred from the old seat and it took him two years of petitioning to the government of the Kingdom of Guatemala, to be granted authority to move the city. Almendarez built the chapel and the first bridge in Tipitapa, during the colonial period, Tipitapas indigenous population dwindled to approximately 1,211 people. Its residents migrated to cities due to the high rate of mortality because of epidemic diseases. The most important historical event for Tipitapa was the Black Thorn Treaty, the treaty was signed on May 4,1927, between liberal and conservative factions that were in open war for political power in the country. In 1929, the name was changed to Villa Stimson after the U. S. government sent Henry L. Stimson. It is not clear why the old Indian name Tipitapa was abolished and it was not until 1961 that the name was changed back to Tipitapa by legislative decree. Another important historical event for the town of Tipitapa and for all of Nicaragua, is the Battle of San Jacinto, fought on September 14,1856. 120 Nicaraguan soldiers, commanded by Colonel Jose Dolores Estrada, fought against more than 300 well-armed pirates who, Tipitapa has a total area of 975.17 km2. Tipitapa Township is divided into urban and rural sectors, the urban sector is divided into eight districts, five districts of the periphery, and seven settlements. Urban settlements Gaspar Garcia Laviana or Tangará Aleyda Delgado The Trejos Peter J. Chamorro No.2 Antonio Mendoza A Decent Housing P / Master The Chaparral. Loma de Esquipulas Tipitapa Township is in the Lakes Basin which extends from the Gulf of Fonseca to the mouth of Rio San Juan

16.
Granada, Nicaragua
–
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 123,697, it is Nicaraguas sixth most populous city, Granada is historically one of Nicaraguas most important cities, economically and politically. It has a colonial heritage, seen in its architecture and structure. Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, ostensibly the first European city in mainland America. Granada is also known as La Gran Sultana, in reflection of its Moorish and Andalusian appearance, unlike its sister city of León and historical rival, now, Its very popular and well known as a Touristic Town. It was named by Hernández de Córdoba after the ancient Spanish city of Granada and this was done in honor of the defeat of the last Moorish stronghold, which had been Spanish Granada, by the Catholic King and Queen of Spain. Granada, Nicaragua was historically the capital in Central America to Antigua. During the colonial period, Granada maintained a level of commerce with ports on the Atlantic Ocean, through Lake Nicaragua. The city has been witness and victim to many of the battles with and invasions from English and it was also where William Walker, the American filibuster, took up residence and attempted to take control of Central America as a ruling president. One of Walkers generals, Charles Frederick Henningsen, set the city ablaze before escaping, destroying much of the ancient city, for many years Granada disputed with León its hegemony as the major city of Nicaragua. The city of Granada was favored by the Conservatives, while Léon was favored by the Liberals, for many years there was conflict that at times became quite violent between the cities families and political factions. In the mid-19th century a site was agreed on and the capital was finally established at Managua between both cities. As of 1850, Granada had a population of approximately 10,000, Granada avoided much of the tumult of the Sandinista Era in the 1970-80s. Granada is located along the coast of the Lake Nicaragua, the twentieth largest lake. Granada is the city of the Department of Granada, which borders Boaco and Managua to the north, Masaya and Carazo to the east. Within the same department, the River Tipitapa which connects the Lake of Managua and Nicaragua passes through it in the north and it also has three volcanic lagoons, Manares, Genirzaro, and the famous Apoyo. Apoyo, which is shared with the Department of Masaya, is the largest volcanic lagoon in Nicaragua, Granada is a very warm city all year round, with very similar temperatures to Managua. This is due to similarities in geography with its proximity to a lake

17.
1972 Nicaragua earthquake
–
The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12,29 a. m. local time on Saturday, December 23 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a magnitude of 6.2, with the epicenter 28 kilometers northeast of the city centre, and a depth of about 5 kilometers. Within an hour after the shock, two aftershocks, one of magnitude 5.0 and the other 5.2, occurred at 1,18 a. m. and 1,20 a. m. The earthquake caused widespread casualties among Managuas residents,6,000 were killed,20,000 were injured and over 250,000 were left homeless. Managua, which lies on the shore of Lake Xolotlan. The city has a history of volcanic and seismic activity which arise from the relative movements of two crustal plates which intersect near the southwestern border of Central America. The Cocos plate, located east of the East Pacific Rise, is moving northeastward and is slowly being submerged under the Caribbean Plate. The zone of dipping is initiated at the surface of the Middle America Trench, one of the most significant geological effects of the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake quake was surface faulting. The earthquake severely damaged an area of 27 square kilometers and destroyed 13 square kilometers in the city centre, much of the damage arose from seismic ground movement which occurred within 10–15 seconds of the main shock. The majority of the factories and smaller buildings were severely damaged and this architecture is far from earthquake resistant, something that became fatally evident. An estimated 53,000 homes in the city were affected, the water and electrical power networks were so severely damaged that a week following the earthquake only 10% of the city had any working water service. Two-thirds of Managuas 1000000 residents were displaced and faced food shortage and disease, because of the damaging effects of the earthquake many of the emergency services in the city were operating at a seriously lower level than normal. The earthquake destroyed all the equipment available and fires were prevalent in some areas for several days. All four main hospitals which before the disaster had 1650 beds were unserviceable, the Nicaraguan government appealed for aid, and the government accepted aid from countries like the United States and Mexico and some 25 other countries worth millions of dollars. It was because of reports that the Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente chose to personally accompany the fourth of a number of relief flights he had organized. That flight crashed on December 31,1972, killing Clemente among others, another difficulty was that much of the material aid donated was inappropriate for the needs of the affected Nicaraguans, including such items as winter clothes and frozen TV dinners. This grew into a revolt that became the Nicaraguan Revolution, in which Somoza was overthrown in 1979, reconstruction only began in earnest in the 1990s. The earthquake changed the face of Managua during its decades of recovery, the city centre is no longer clearly defined, as buildings have been constructed away from the city centre

18.
Mestizo
–
The term was used as an ethnic/racial category in the casta system that was in use during the Spanish Empires control of their New World colonies. Mestizos are usually considered to be mixed Spaniards by the crown of Spain, the term mestizaje - taking as its root mestizo or mixed - is the Spanish word for miscegenation, the general process of mixing ancestries. To avoid confusion with the usage of the term mestizo. In colonial Venezuela, pardo was more commonly used instead of mestizo, pardo means being mixed without specifying which mixture, it was used to describe anyone born in the Americas whose ancestry was a mixture of European, Amerindian, and Black African. In colonial Brazil most of the population was mestiço in the original Iberian definition of the word. In the Philippines, which was a colony of Spain, the term came to refer to a Filipino with any foreign ancestry especially whites. In Canada, the Métis people is a community composed of those who possess combined European, in Saint Barthélemy, the term mestizo refers to people of mixed European and East Asian ancestry. The Spanish word mestizo is from Latin mixticius, meaning mixed and its usage has been documented as early as 1275, to refer to the offspring of an Egyptian and a Jew. This term was first documented in English in 1582 and it is related to the particular racial identity of historical non-white Amerindian-descended Hispanic and Latino American communities in an American context. In English-speaking Canada, Canadian Métis, as a loanword from French, refers to persons of mixed French, in the United States, Métis Americans and Mestizo Americans are two distinct racial and ethno-racial identities, as reflected in the use of French and Spanish loanwords, respectively. The latter was listed as a mestizo de sangley in birth records of the 19th century, with sangley as a reference to the Hokkiense word for business. Mestizo, mestiço, métis, mestís, Mischling, meticcio, mestiezen, mestee, in the Spanish colonial period, the Spanish developed an extremely vast complex system of racial hierarchy, which was used for social control and which also determined a persons standing in society. There were three categories of race during the initial period of colonization of the Americas by the Spanish, White Spaniard, Amerindian. During the Spanish colonial era, a myriad of terms were created to differentiate these racial mixtures, by the end of the colonial period in 1821, over one hundred sub-categories of possible variations of mixture existed, but official church and civil records were maintained with few categories. Church baptismal and marriage registers and civil records used the terms español, castizo, mestizo, mulato, and indio. As time went on, a system of hierarchy, the sistema de castas or the sociedad de castas developed where society was divided based on race, wealth. Mestizo – a person of mixed White European and Amerindian ancestry, in theory, and as depicted in eighteenth-century Mexican casta paintings, español status could also be attained by people of mixed origin who consistently had intermarried with Europeans. Such cases might include the offspring of a parent and one Peninsular or criollo parent

19.
White people
–
White people is a racial classification specifier, used for people of Europid ancestry, with the exact implications dependent on context. The contemporary usage of people or a white race as a large group of populations contrasting with black, American Indian. It is today used as a racial classifier in multiracial societies, such as North Africa, United States. The term white race or white people entered the major European languages in the later 17th century, in the context of racialized slavery, description of populations as white in reference to their skin color predates this notion and is found in Greco-Roman ethnography and other ancient sources. Scholarship on race generally distinguishes the concept from pre-modern descriptions of collective difference. In the literature of the Ancient Near East and Classical Antiquity and we know that Egyptians were not oblivious to skin color, however, because artists paid attention to it in works of art, to the extent the pigments at the time permitted. Classicist James Dee states the Greeks do not describe themselves as white people—or as anything else because they had no word in their color vocabulary for themselves. Peoples skin color did not carry meaning, what mattered is where they lived. Religious conversion was sometimes described figuratively as a change in skin color, similarly, the Rigveda uses krsna tvac black skin as a metaphor for irreligiosity. The Ancient Egyptian funerary text known as the Book of Gates distinguishes four groups in a procession and these are the Egyptians, the Levantine/Canaanite peoples or Asiatics, the Nubians and the fair-skinned Libyans. The Egyptians are depicted as a reddish brown, the Nubians as black skinned, the Semites from the Levant and Canaan as light skinned. Herodotus described the Scythian Budini as having blue eyes and bright red hair. And the Egyptians – quite like the Colchians – as melánchroes and he also gives the possibly first reference to the common Greek name of the tribes living south of Egypt, otherwise known as Nubians, which was Aithíopes. Later Xenophon described the Aethiopians as black and the Persian troops as white compared to the skin of Greek troops. These color adjectives are found in contrast to the standard set by the own group. According to historian Irene Silverblatt, Race thinking … made social categories into racial truths, Alastair Bonnett argues that white identity, as it is presently conceived, is an American project, reflecting American interpretations of race and history. According to Gregory Jay, a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Before the age of exploration, group differences were based on language, religion. … the European had always reacted a bit hysterically to the differences of skin color, in the 16th and 17th centuries, East Asian peoples were almost uniformly described as white, never as yellow

20.
French people
–
The French are an ethnic group and nation who are identified with the country of France. This connection may be legal, historical, or cultural, modern French society can be considered a melting pot. To be French, according to the first article of the French Constitution, is to be a citizen of France, regardless of origin, race. The debate concerning the integration of this view with the underlying the European Community remains open. A large number of foreigners have traditionally been permitted to live in France, indeed, the country has long valued its openness, tolerance and the quality of services available. Application for French citizenship is often interpreted as a renunciation of previous state allegiance unless a dual citizenship agreement exists between the two countries, the European treaties have formally permitted movement and European citizens enjoy formal rights to employment in the state sector. Seeing itself as a nation with universal values, France has always valued. However, the success of such assimilation has recently called into question. There is increasing dissatisfaction with, and within, growing ethno-cultural enclaves, the 2005 French riots in some troubled and impoverished suburbs were an example of such tensions. However they should not be interpreted as ethnic conflicts but as social conflicts born out of socioeconomic problems endangering proper integration, the name France etymologically derives from the word Francia, the territory of the Franks. The Franks were a Germanic tribe that overran Roman Gaul at the end of the Roman Empire, in the pre-Roman era, all of Gaul was inhabited by a variety of peoples who were known collectively as the Gaulish tribes. Gaul was militarily conquered in 58-51 BCE by the Roman legions under the command of General Julius Caesar, the area then became part of the Roman Empire. Over the next five centuries the two cultures intermingled, creating a hybridized Gallo-Roman culture, the Gaulish vernacular language disappeared step by step to be replaced everywhere by Vulgar Latin, which would later develop under Frankish influence into the French language in the North of France. With the decline of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, a federation of Germanic peoples entered the picture, the Franks were Germanic pagans who began to settle in northern Gaul as laeti, already during the Roman era. They continued to filter across the Rhine River from present-day Netherlands, at the beginning, they served in the Roman army and reached high commands. Their language is spoken as a kind of Dutch in northern France. Another Germanic people immigrated massively to Alsace, the Alamans, which explains the Alemannic German spoken there and they were competitors of the Franks, thats why it became at the Renaissance time the word for German in French, Allemand. By the early 6th century the Franks, led by the Merovingian king Clovis I and his sons, had consolidated their hold on much of modern-day France, the Vikings eventually intermarried with the local people, converting to Christianity in the process

21.
History of the Jews of Nicaragua
–
Jewish Nicaraguans or Nicaraguan Jews are Nicaraguans of Jewish ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Nicaragua. They are part of the ethnic Jewish diaspora, the first Jewish immigrants were said to have arrived in Nicaragua, they came from France in the 1920s, so it was thought. But they actually arrived much earlier, the date may be somewhere early 1800s. One of the first families were the Oppenheimers who did, in fact, nestor Oppenheimer was married to Camila Winston Lazard. They registered the birth of son, named Rene Salomon Oppenheimer and he was born in Managua, Nicaragua on July 22,1911. One of the few registered Jewish births, nestor and his brother Filiberto lived in Granada, and Rivas, Nicaragua. Nestors son Rene Oppenheimer subsequently moved to France from Nicaragua where he was arrested by the Nazi, other families included the Dreyfus, Levy, Raskosky, and the Salomons. Another Notable family who appear to be of Sephardi Jew descent is the Rios-Montiel family of Juigalpa, another wave came from Eastern Europe after 1929. The Jews in Nicaragua were a small community, the majority lived in Managua. The Jews made significant contributions to Nicaraguas economic development while dedicating themselves to farming, manufacturing, the Salomon and Dreyfus families both operated well known department stores in Managua during the first half of the 20th century. The Congregacion Israelita de Nicaragua was the central Jewish organization until 1979, the community maintained a synagogue and social center, as well as a Bnai Brith lodge and a Womens International Zionist Organization chapter. Also, prior to 1979, the small Jewish community had a synagogue, sometime after, the land where the synagogue and school once stood was turned into a funeral home. The Jewish community encountered anti-semitism by individuals, the majority who claimed that Nicaraguan Jews were responsible for Israeli arms sales to the Somoza regime, many of these individuals were part of the Sandinista National Liberation Front. There was much hostility between the Sandinista government, which came into power in 1979, and the Jews and this was mostly due to the Sandinista governments close relationship with the Palestine Liberation Organization. It has been estimated that the highest number of Jews in Nicaragua reached a peak of 250 in 1972, however, that same year a devastating earthquake hit Managua and destroyed 90% of the city, it prompted many Jews to emigrate. The Sandinistas also sequestered the only synagogue in the nation, they had it bombed and turned into a school, after Daniel Ortega ran and lost the presidential elections in 1990 a small number of Jews returned to Nicaragua. The current Jewish population is estimated at around 50 people, after 1979 the Jewish community had no rabbi or bris. After that, there was another bris for the Najman family, the Jewish community has finally started to recover

22.
German Nicaraguan
–
German Nicaraguan is a Nicaraguan having German ancestries or a German naturalized Nicaraguan. This includes Poles due to Partitions of Poland, during the Second World War, after Nicaraguas allies declared war on Germany, German immigrants not naturalized were persecuted and imprisoned. Some were deported to Germany or to concentration camps in other countries, although Germans have emigrated to Nicaragua since the 19th century, most of the German Nicaraguans still speak both Spanish and German. The first German who settled in Nicaragua was the merchant of Leon in 1810, known simply as Don Alemán, known by Orlando W. Roberts. In 1852, a group of German immigrants, primarily men, began to settle in northern Nicaragua with the purpose of cultivating 200 blocks of land per person. They were required to cultivate the land and have an initial capital equivalent to about $2,500 per person, over time, these settlers built farms, established towns and increased the wealth of Nicaragua. North Nicaragua became the epicenter of economic prosperity. The next settlement upstream, Castillo Viejo, likely had a number of German settlers by the year 1852, the Germans continued to arrive on ships at Granada and rode down to areas where they would soon establish settlements. Other immigrants came to Leon and began their journey to Matagalpa, many of the Germans, who then moved to Costa Rica in 1853 had come to Nicaragua with the emigrant ship Antoinette. At the beginning of World War II in 1939, Nicaraguas allies - France, the Government of Nicaragua prompted a wave of persecution against the Germans in Nicaragua. During this period, fifty men of German descent were attacked in La vaterland. They were those who had encouraged to farm coffee plantations by the Thirty Years Conservative governments. To promote the cultivation of coffee he donated 200 acres of land in the areas of Matagalpa. These Germans were the ones who started the promotion, production, processing, transportation, the president of Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza Garcia declared war against Germany in 1941, and the Germans in Nicaragua were victims of this European war. Somoza began hunting Germans to imprison them, the older people were arrested and the younger were taken to the Quinta Eitzen, a property which Somoza had seized from the German Ulrich Eitzen. Once imprisoned they were not given food, only Germans who were naturalized Nicaraguans were not imprisoned or were released from the jail. However, some Germans were deported to Germany, some German groups from Nicaragua were in refugee camps in other countries but once the war and the German persecution started, some returned to Nicaragua. Some groups of German were deported to camps in the United States from Nicaragua

23.
Italians
–
Italians are a nation and ethnic group native to Italy who share a common culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a native tongue. The majority of Italian nationals are speakers of Standard Italian. Italians have greatly influenced and contributed to the arts and music, science, technology, cuisine, sports, fashion, jurisprudence, banking, Italian people are generally known for their localism and their attention to clothing and family values. The term Italian is at least 3,000 years old and has a history that goes back to pre-Roman Italy. According to one of the common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The Etruscan civilization reached its peak about the 7th century BC, but by 509 BC, when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan monarchs, its control in Italy was on the wane. By 350 BC, after a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans, the Latins, with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and they managed to unite the entire Italian peninsula. This period of unification was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, in the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, octavian, the final victor, was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman emperor. After two centuries of rule, in the 3rd century AD, Rome was threatened by internal discord and menaced by Germanic and Asian invaders. Emperor Diocletians administrative division of the empire into two parts in 285 provided only temporary relief, it became permanent in 395, in 313, Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and churches thereafter rose throughout the empire. However, he moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople. The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy and his defeat marked the end of the western part of the Roman Empire. During most of the period from the fall of Rome until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric, the king of another Germanic tribe, Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian, after the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak

24.
Russians
–
Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. The majority of Russians inhabit the state of Russia, while notable minorities exist in Ukraine, Kazakhstan. A large Russian diaspora exists all over the world, with numbers in the United States, Germany, Israel. Russians are the most numerous group in Europe. They are predominantly Orthodox Christians by religion, the Russian language is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and also spoken as a secondary language in many former Soviet states. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians. One is русские, which most often means ethnic Russians, another is россияне, which means citizens of Russia. The former word refers to ethnic Russians, regardless of what country they live in, under certain circumstances this term may or may not extend to denote members of other Russian-speaking ethnic groups from Russia, or from the former Soviet Union. The latter word refers to all people holding citizenship of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity, translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups. The name of the Russians derives from the Rus people, the name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi. According to other theories the name Rus is derived from Proto-Slavic *roud-s-ь, the modern Russians formed from two groups of East Slavic tribes, Northern and Southern. The tribes involved included the Krivichs, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches, genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Belarusians and Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians, such Uralic peoples included the Merya and the Muromians. Outside archaeological remains, little is known about the predecessors to Russians in general prior to 859 AD when the Primary Chronicle starts its records and it is thought that by 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. Later, both Belarusians and South Russians formed on this ethnic linguistic ground, the same Slavic ethnic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. With the Uralic substratum, they formed the tribes of the Krivichs, in 2010, the worlds Russian population was 129 million people of which 86% were in Russia,11. 5% in the CIS and Baltic countries, with a further 2. 5% living in other countries. Roughly 111 million ethnic Russians live in Russia, 80% of whom live in the European part of Russia, ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union, sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by the Tsarist and later Soviet government. On some occasions ethnic Russian communities, such as Lipovans who settled in the Danube delta or Doukhobors in Canada, after the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the Bolshevik regime, and millions became refugees

25.
Turkish people
–
Turkish people, or the Turks, also known as Anatolian Turks, are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish, the most widely spoken Turkic language. They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey, as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages, ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration, the ethnonym Turk may be first discerned in Herodotus reference to Targitas, first king of the Scythians, furthermore, during the first century AD. Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. The first definite references to the Turks come mainly from Chinese sources in the sixth century, in these sources, Turk appears as Tujue, which referred to the Göktürks. Although Turk refers to Turkish people, it may sometimes refer to the wider language group of Turkic peoples. In the 19th century, the word Türk only referred to Anatolian villagers, the Ottoman ruling class identified themselves as Ottomans, not usually as Turks. In the late 19th century, as the Ottoman upper classes adopted European ideas of nationalism the term Türk took on a more positive connotation. The Turkish-speakers of Anatolia were the most loyal supporters of Ottoman rule, Turkish Jews, Christians, or even Alevis may be considered non-Turks. On the other hand, Kurdish Arab followers of the Sunni branch of Islam who live in eastern Anatolia are sometimes considered Turks, article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship. Anatolia was first inhabited by hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic era, most of the Turkic peoples were followers of Tengriism, sharing the cult of the sky god Tengri, although there were also adherents of Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism. However, during the Muslim conquests, the Turks entered the Muslim world proper as servants, during the booty of Arab raids, the Turks began converting to Islam after Muslim conquest of Transoxiana through the efforts of missionaries, Sufis, and merchants. Although initiated by the Arabs, the conversion of the Turks to Islam was filtered through Persian, under the Umayyads, most were domestic servants, whilst under the Abbasids, increasing numbers were trained as soldiers. By the ninth century, Turkish commanders were leading the caliphs’ Turkish troops into battle, as the Abbasid caliphate declined, Turkish officers assumed more military and political power taking over or establishing provincial dynasties with their own corps of Turkish troops. During the 11th century the Seljuk Turks who were admirers of the Persian civilization grew in number and were able to occupy the province of the Abbasid Empire. By 1055, the Seljuk Empire captured Baghdad and began to make their first incursions into the edges of Anatolia, when the Seljuk Turks won the Battle of Manzikert against the Byzantine Empire in 1071, it opened the gates of Anatolia to them. Although ethnically Turkish, the Seljuk Turks appreciated and became the purveyors of the Persian culture rather than the Turkish culture, in dire straits, the Byzantine Empire turned to the West for help setting in motion the pleas that led to the First Crusade. Once the Crusaders took Iznik, the Seljuk Turks established the Sultanate of Rum from their new capital, Konya, by the 12th century the Europeans had begun to call the Anatolian region Turchia or Turkey, meaning the land of the Turks

26.
Nahuatl
–
Nahuatl, known historically as Aztec, is a language or group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by an estimated 1.5 million Nahua peoples, all Nahuan languages are indigenous to Mesoamerica. Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE and it was the language of the Aztecs who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeled Classical Nahuatl, today, Nahuan languages are spoken in scattered communities, mostly in rural areas throughout central Mexico and along the coastline. There are considerable differences among varieties, and some are mutually unintelligible, Huasteca Nahuatl, with over one million speakers, is the most-spoken variety. They have all been subject to varying degrees of influence from Spanish, No modern Nahuan languages are identical to Classical Nahuatl, but those spoken in and around the Valley of Mexico are generally more closely related to it than those on the periphery. Nahuan languages exhibit a complex morphology characterized by polysynthesis and agglutination, through a very long period of coexistence with the other indigenous Mesoamerican languages, they have absorbed many influences, coming to form part of the Mesoamerican language area. Many words from Nahuatl have been borrowed into Spanish, and since diffused into hundreds of other languages, most of these loanwords denote things indigenous to central Mexico which the Spanish heard mentioned for the first time by their Nahuatl names. English words of Nahuatl origin include avocado, chayote, chili, chocolate, atlatl, coyote, peyote, axolotl, as a language label, the term Nahuatl encompasses a group of closely related languages or divergent dialects within the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Mexican Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas recognize 30 different individual varieties within the language group labeled Nahuatl, the Ethnologue recognizes 28 varieties with separate ISO codes. Sometimes the label also is used to include the Pipil language of El Salvador, within Mexico the question of whether to consider individual varieties to be languages or dialects of a single language is highly political. This article focuses on describing the history of the group. For details on individual varieties or subgroups, see the individual articles, in the past, the branch of Uto-Aztecan to which Nahuatl belongs has been called Aztecan. From the 1990s onward, the alternative designation Nahuan has been used as a replacement especially in Spanish-language publications. The Nahuan branch of Uto-Aztecan is widely accepted as having two divisions, General Aztec and Pochutec, General Aztec encompasses the Nahuatl and Pipil languages. Pochutec is a scantily attested language, which became extinct in the 20th century, other researchers have argued that Pochutec should be considered a divergent variant of the western periphery. Nahuatl denotes at least Classical Nahuatl together with related languages spoken in Mexico. The inclusion of Pipil into the group is debated, current subclassification of Nahuatl rests on research by Canger, Canger and Lastra de Suárez

27.
Paleo-Indians
–
The prefix paleo- comes from the Greek adjective palaios, meaning old or ancient. The term Paleo-Indians applies specifically to the period in the Western Hemisphere and is distinct from the term Paleolithic. Evidence suggests big-animal hunters crossed the Bering Strait from Eurasia into North America over a land and ice bridge, small isolated groups of hunter-gatherers migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska. From c. 16,500 – c. 13,500 BCE, ice-free corridors developed along the Pacific coast and this allowed animals, followed by humans, to migrate south into the interior. The people went on foot or used primitive boats along the coastline, the precise dates and routes of the peopling of the New World are subject to ongoing debate. Stone tools, particularly projectile points and scrapers, are the evidence of the earliest human activity in the Americas. Crafted lithic flaked tools are used by archaeologists and anthropologists to classify cultural periods, scientific evidence links Indigenous Americans to Asian peoples, specifically eastern Siberian populations. There is evidence for at least two separate migrations, between 8000–7000 BCE the climate stabilized, leading to a rise in population and lithic technology advances, resulting in more sedentary lifestyle. The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets, another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age. Archaeologists contend that Paleo-Indians migration out of Beringia, ranges from c. 40,000 – c. 16,500 years ago and this time range is a source of debate and promises to continue as such for years to come. However, alternative theories about the origins of Paleoindians exist, including migration from Europe, the Paleo-Indian would eventually flourish all over the Americas. These peoples were spread over a geographical area, thus there were regional variations in lifestyles. However, all the groups shared a common style of stone tool production, making knapping styles. Food would have been plentiful during the few months of the year. Lakes and rivers were teeming with many species of fish, birds, nuts, berries and edible roots could be found in the forests and marshes. The fall would have been a time because foodstuffs would have to be stored

28.
Ancient footprints of Acahualinca
–
The Ancient footprints of Acahualinca exist in Managua, Nicaragua near the southern shore of Lake Managua. The region was once called El Cauce, the tracks are fossil Late Holocene human footprints left behind in volcanic ash and mud, which solidified about 2, 120±120 years ago, shortly after the group of up to 15 people passed by. It is sometimes reported that the people were running to escape from a volcanic explosion, fossilized footprints of several animals are also present, but the fact that they intersect the human footprints shows they were not traveling with the people. In 1874, construction workers discovered the footprints, the United States medical doctor and archaeological collector, Earl Flint, brought the footprints to the attention of the international science community and media in 1884. The Carnegie Institution of Washington began the first scientific analysis and excavations of the area in 1941 and 1942 and they also constructed a museum and a building to protect the footprints. Work was continued by Joaquín Matilló, Allan L. Bryan, based upon this date, he estimated that the footprints dated to about 5,000 Before Present. But, later dating of the deposits in which they occur, known as the Masaya Triple Layer, demonstrated that the fossil tracks are only about 2. In 1978, the Nicaraguan researcher Jorge Espinosa continued the excavation near the termination of the original excavation and he uncovered more footprints at a depth of 4 meters. The track is believed to continue further, specimens of these footprints can be viewed at both the Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Harvard University and the United States National Museum. The Museo Sitio Huellas de Acahualinca is located at west of Managua, the museum was founded in 1953 by Nicaraguan scientist Leonor Martínez, later in 1989, was rescued, restored and fitted out with the support of ASDI and the Historical Museum of Sweden. In addition to footprints, the features a small collection of pottery. Previously there were tools and a skull from León Viejo. Eves footprint — footprints of a single female found at Langebaan, South Africa in 1995, Laetoli footprints — a line of hominid footprints, discovered at Laetoli, Tanzania by Mary Leakey in 1976, dating to approximately 3.6 million years ago. List of fossil sites List of hominina fossils Human Timeline – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History

29.
Archaeology
–
Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites

30.
Petroglyph
–
Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use such as carving, engraving. Petroglyphs are found world-wide, and are associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek word petro-, theme of the word meaning stone, and glyphein meaning to carve. The term petroglyph should not be confused with petrograph, which is an image drawn or painted on a rock face, both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or parietal art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by large rocks. Inukshuks are also unique, and found only in the Arctic and they are a category of rock art, and sometimes found in conjunction with rock-cut architecture. However, they tend to be omitted in most works on rock art, a few such works exploit the natural contours of the rock and use them to define an image, but they do not amount to man-made reliefs. Rock reliefs have been made in many cultures, and were important in the art of the Ancient Near East. Rock reliefs are generally large, as they need to be to make an impact in the open air. Most have figures that are over life-size, and in many the figures are multiples of life-size, the vertical relief is most common, but reliefs on essentially horizontal surfaces are also found. The term typically excludes relief carvings inside caves, whether natural or themselves man-made, natural rock formations made into statues or other sculpture in the round, most famously at the Great Sphinx of Giza, are also usually excluded. Reliefs on large boulders left in their location, like the Hittite İmamkullu relief, are likely to be included. Some petroglyphs are dated to approximately the Neolithic and late Upper Paleolithic boundary, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, if not earlier. Sites in Australia have petroglyphs that are estimated to be as much as 27,000 years old, around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, other precursors of writing systems, such as pictographs and ideograms, began to appear. Petroglyphs were still common though, and some cultures continued using them much longer, petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except Antarctica with highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia, Siberia, southwestern North America and Australia. There are many theories to explain their purpose, depending on their location, age, some petroglyphs are thought to be astronomical markers, maps, and other forms of symbolic communication, including a form of pre-writing. Petroglyph maps may show trails, symbols communicating time and distances traveled, as well as the terrain in the form of rivers, landforms

31.
Ometepe
–
Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome and tepetl, meaning two mountains and it is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua. The two volcanoes of Concepción and Maderas are joined by a low isthmus to form one island in the shape of an hourglass, Ometepe has an area of 276 km2. It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide, the island has an economy based on livestock, agriculture, and tourism. The island first became inhabited during the Dinarte phase, although evidence is questionable, the first known inhabitants were Nahua Indians from Mexico. In their footsteps came the Niquirano Indians who established an important settlement on the island, traces of this past can still be found in petroglyphs and stone idols on the northern slopes of Maderas volcano. The oldest date from 300 BC, after the Spaniards conquered the Central American region in the 16th century, pirates began prowling Lake Nicaragua. They came in from the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River, the inhabitants of Ometepe were hard hit. The pirates kidnapped women, stole the animals, possessions, and harvest. This made the local population move to higher grounds on the volcanoes in search of shelter, the island was finally settled by the Spanish conquistadors at the end of the 16th century. The most important villages on the island are Altagracia, on the eastern side and these two villages are the centers of the two municipalities and the island is divided between the two. Many traditions have been alive, thus inhabitants of Ometepe celebrate more religious. Today, Ometepe is developing tourism and ecotourism, with the archaeological past and the bounty of its nature sanctuary, a new airport opened in 2014. Volcán Concepción is on the northwest half of the island, Concepcion has a symmetrical cone and is an active volcano. The volcano is believed to have risen in the early Holocene epoch and, through continual eruptions, Concepcion is considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America. Although it went through a quiet period, on December 8,1880. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year, more eruptions followed in 1883,1889,1902,1907, and 1924. In 2005, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the volcano, cracks appeared on roads throughout the island and an advisory to leave the island was issued

32.
Pre-Columbian era
–
For this reason the alternative terms of Precontact Americas, Pre-Colonial Americas or Prehistoric Americas are also in use. In areas of Latin America the term used is Pre-Hispanic. Other civilizations were contemporary with the period and were described in European historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya civilization, had their own written records, because many Christian Europeans of the time viewed such texts as heretical, men like Diego de Landa destroyed many texts in pyres, even while seeking to preserve native histories. Only a few documents have survived in their original languages, while others were transcribed or dictated into Spanish, giving modern historians glimpses of ancient culture. Indigenous American cultures continue to evolve after the pre-Columbian era, many of these peoples and their descendants continue traditional practices, while evolving and adapting new cultural practices and technologies into their lives. Now, the study of pre-Columbian cultures is most often based on scientific. Asian nomads are thought to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge, now the Bering Strait, genetic evidence found in Amerindians maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA supports the theory of multiple genetic populations migrating from Asia. Over the course of millennia, Paleo-Indians spread throughout North and South America, exactly when the first group of people migrated into the Americas is the subject of much debate. One of the earliest identifiable cultures was the Clovis culture, with sites dating from some 13,000 years ago, however, older sites dating back to 20,000 years ago have been claimed. Some genetic studies estimate the colonization of the Americas dates from between 40,000 and 13,000 years ago, the chronology of migration models is currently divided into two general approaches. The first is the short chronology theory with the first movement beyond Alaska into the New World occurring no earlier than 14, 000–17,000 years ago, followed by successive waves of immigrants. The second belief is the long chronology theory, which proposes that the first group of people entered the hemisphere at an earlier date, possibly 50. In that case, the Eskimo peoples would have arrived separately and at a later date, probably no more than 2,000 years ago. The North American climate was unstable as the ice age receded and it finally stabilized by about 10,000 years ago, climatic conditions were then very similar to todays. Within this timeframe, roughly pertaining to the Archaic Period, numerous archaeological cultures have been identified, the unstable climate led to widespread migration, with early Paleo-Indians soon spreading throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct tribes. The paleo-indians were hunter-gatherers, likely characterized by small, mobile bands consisting of approximately 20 to 50 members of an extended family and these groups moved from place to place as preferred resources were depleted and new supplies were sought. During much of the Paleo-Indian period, bands are thought to have subsisted primarily through hunting now-extinct giant land animals such as mastodon, Paleo-Indian groups carried a variety of tools

A representation of a Mestizo, in a Pintura de Castas from New Spain during the late colonial period. The painting's caption states "Spanish and Indian produce Mestizo", 1780.

A statue of Gonzalo Guerrero, who adopted the Maya way of life and fathered the first Mestizo children of Mexico, but not of the Americas, since the first mestizos were born in the Caribbean, by Spanish men and indigenous Caribbean women.